To LS or Not to LS

Came across this ’59 Pontiac Safari wagon over on BaT and thought it was worth sharing here.


Such a rare Canadian car, cl***y looking but not overdone. Built for touring with the LS, power steering and power brakes. You don’t see many of these that survived the wreckers.


I’m curious what you guys think about the details—I love the take on an original color but with the contrasting roof and wheels. Also wondering if anyone knows much about how these Safaris were optioned back then… clearly not with a 5.3L LS! I know there are purists that won’t like that, but if you were building a car to road trip in, would you sacrifice purity for reliability and go for an LS? Would you rather power steering and power brakes than an all original stamp of approval?


Link here if anyone wants to take a closer look:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1959-pontiac-strato-chief-safari-wagon


Always liked these late ‘50s wagons...unbelievable body lines and so much character!

 

Power steering and brakes were more common on the more expensive cars, you'd expect those options to have been ordered on a typical Buick, but not a typical Pontiac.

Putting the modern belly ****on motor in a car like that is a sensible thing to do, seems that a lot more folks these days know how to deal with modern drivetrains, than with the old ones. Sure takes it "off topic" on the HAMB, though.

 

The wagon looks pretty good, for now. Those little bubbles under the paint on the doors are rust holes under filler that are about to get much worse. I suspect that the doors are not the only place filler was used to cover rust. In another year, that car probably won't look that pretty. To correctly repair the amount of rust I suspect may be hiding under that paint won't be cheap.
If you don't mind brown rust spots showing up on your shiny blue paint, you may have a few years before it gets really bad looking.
The car looks like it might be a nice cruiser, other then the rust. The LS motor is the GM equivalent to the 283 from the late 50s, seems to be the go to motor for a lot of people. They make good power, are plentiful, and parts will be available for a long time. Many have the over drive transmissions which makes driving on the highways more fuel efficient. I have nothing against the modern drive trains in the old cars. They make great cruisers. The purest are always unhappy, not my problem.